Archive - May 2020


Archive - May 2020

Week ending: 31st May

Baron's Haugh

On Tuesday I took my macro lens for another walk down the Baron's Haugh nature reserve. The weather was warm with unbroken sunshine, perfect for photographing insects, and this blog is a record of the what I found there on Tuesday’s visit.
Along the path to the Marsh hide I found Common Blue and Large Red Damselﬂies ﬂitting gently between leaves by a burn. Along the banks of the River Clyde near the Centenary hide there were also many Blue-tailed Damselﬂies. These are smaller and show greater variety in thorax colours.

Common Blue Damselfly	Large Red Damselfly

Blue-tailed Damselfly

I observed more butterﬂies than in my previous visit. The Green-veined Butterﬂies were perhaps most common, although I saw fair numbers of the Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Orange Tip butterﬂies.

Green-veined White	Peacock

Small Tortoiseshell	Orange Tip

I was lucky enough to get close to a pair of mating Orange Tips. I watched for a few minutes as the male ﬂuttered acrobatically above the prostrate female before descending to couple brieﬂy.

Orange Tip

Around the reserve there were many large clumps of Common Comfrey with their drooping, tubular ﬂowers newly in bloom. Around them I noticed several types of bees - White-tailed, Tree and Early Bumblebees, and also the much smaller Blue Mason Bee, all cashing-in in the rich stores of nectar and pollen in the young ﬂowers.

White-tailed Bumblebee	Tree Bumblebee

Early Bumblebee	Blue Mason Bee

Of course, there were also less attractive insects such as the Flesh Fly , Brachicoma devia and Muscid or Houseﬂy , Muscina prolapsa. Not particularly pretty, but interesting nonetheless.

Flesh Fly Brachicoma Devia	Housefly - Muscina Prolapsa

There were also hoverﬂies hanging in the air and resting on leaves. Bumblebee-mimic Cheilosia illustrata was amongst the Comfrey ﬂowers, mingling with the bees. The Grey-backed Snout hoverﬂy, Rhingia rostrata, was seen in fair numbers on tall Dames Violet ﬂowers. I snapped the aptly-named Sunﬂy (although it is also called the “Footballer” due to its striped thorax) on very large Butterbur leaves. A personal favourite is the Greenbottle, Lucilia caesar. The one shown below was on an Oxeye Daisy, although they were widespread throughout the site.

Cheilosia Illustrata	Rhingia Rostrata

Sunfly	Lucilia Caesar

I also saw various beetles on my visit. As I sat on my trusty 3-legged stool, resting by the banks of the River Clyde, I caught sight of a Green Leaf Weevil creeping amongst the foliage of Common Comfrey. These long-snouted insects dine on leaves which makes them unwelcome to fruit farmers and gardeners. I saw very large numbers of False-blister Beetles (also known as Pollen-feeding Beetles) on a wide variety of ﬂowers. The one below was on Dames Violet. Another commonly-seen group of beetles are Soldier Beetles. I snapped the one below, Cantharis Rustica, on Comfrey. Perhaps everyone’s favourite beetles are Ladybirds. The one I saw on Tuesday was not the usual red, but orange, the Water Ladybird. As you might expect, it is usually found at the edges of streams, rivers and ponds.

Green Leaf Weevil	Oedemera Virescens

Cantharis Rustica	Water Ladybird

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my insect safari. It is a wee change from my usual ramblings (pun intended).

Week ending: 24th May 2020:
Dalzell Estate, Barons Haugh

My ﬁtness walks this week covered the beautiful area south-west of Motherwell. Equipped with my Nikon D500 and Sigma 105 mm macro lens I ﬁrst explored the forested Dalzell Estate. The path took me down to the River Clyde and into the wetlands of RSPB Barons Haugh. Both areas are rich in plant and animal life. I was hoping to capture images of plants and insects, and I wasn’t disappointed.
As I strolled through the Dalzell Estate, bright shafts of sunlight illuminated patches of wildﬂowers growing between the trees. I noticed tiny blue Germander Speedwell and as I stooped to photograph them I was lucky to see a Beetle, Oedemera Virescens, on one of the blooms. In the Chinese Garden I was impressed by the Pendulous Sedge by the stream. On the overhanging tree foliage I snapped, ﬁrst a black hoverﬂy, Cordilura Albitarsis , then the attractive greenbottle, Lucilia Caesar.

Female Oedemera Virescens	Pendulous Sedge

Cheilosia Abitarsis	Lucillia Caesar

Many of the paths were lined with large areas of Ramsons, also known as Wild Garlic. Also in bloom were Pink Rhododendrons, although many of these were dug out a few years ago in an attempt to rid the environment of what is regarded as an invasive species.

Ramsons	Rhododendron

I captured a single Ramsons ﬂower head that the light selected from other shaded ﬂowers. Similarly, I photographed a group of tiny Woodruﬀ ﬂowers.

Ramsons	Woodruff

After a twenty minute walk I found myself walking along the much eroded path along the River Clyde. In the grass verge I found a few white ﬂowers of Meadow Saxifrage . The path was lined in parts with Hawthorn bushes. These were spectacularly covered in white bloom and their sweet scent hung in the air. Insects were dining on the ﬂowers, such as the hoverﬂy, Eristalsis Arbustorum, and Empis Tessellata , a Dagger ﬂy, so-named due to their dagger-like mouthparts. Just before I reached the gate into Barons Haugh Nature Reserve I came across a nice isolated specimen of the umbilifer, Pignut, beside a tall tree. This plant is most often surrounded by grasses and as such is diﬃcult to photograph.

Meadow Saxifrage	Eristalis Arbustorum

Empis Tessellata	Pignut

In the reserve I rested on a handily-placed bench overlooking the Clyde. There were quite a few wildﬂowers in the area of the bench. I snapped some Red Campion and one of the many fruiting Garden Strawberry plants. Also within easy reach were some lovely yellow Wood Avens and a couple of charming, seeding Dandelions.

Red Campion	Garden Strawberry

Wood Avens	Dandelion

The path along the west side of the reserve was richly lined with a wide variety of wildﬂowers. Prominent were the Greater and Wood Stitchworts whose genus name is Stellaria, meaning, appropriately, “star-like”. Also there in great numbers were Crosswort, a member of the Bedstraw family. Each plant is a little tower of rings of tiny yellow ﬂowers, each a x-shaped cross. Along the grassy edge of the path there were ﬂowering Ribwort Plantain. These, like many so called “weeds” are so widely seen that their beauty is passed over.

Greater Stitchwort	Wood Stitchwort

Crosswort	Ribwort Plantain

While resting by Clyde’s bonny banks I managed a shot of a beautiful male Orange Tip butterﬂy as it fed on tall Dames Violet. I also caught a few shots of the hoverﬂy, Cheilosia Illustrata , despite its restless movements. I was delighted to come across a couple of female Common Blue Damselﬂies. I’ve been wondering how the eroding riverbanks would aﬀect these delicate creatures. I usually see more during May. A Peacock butterﬂy ﬂirted past me and came to rest on the gravel footpath (a hasty repair after the tarred path was taken by the swollen river). The were fewer butterﬂies than in previous years. For example, the Green-veined White, usually seen in large numbers, was absent.

Orange Tip Butterfly	Cheilosia Illustrata

Common Blue Damselfly	Peacock Butterfly

I climbed path up the slope towards the exit road and reached the deserted reserve car park. I snapped a ﬁnal few ﬂower shots there of freshly bloomed Dog Rose and yellow Broom. I also noticed a couple of lovely yellow Welsh Poppies nodding in the breeze amongst some tall grass. Another Swollen-thighed Beetle emerged from its nectaries and seemed to pose as I photographed. My ﬁnal shot was of an Oxeye Daisy hosting a small moth.

Dog Rose	Broom

Welsh Poppy	Oxeye Daisy

I enjoyed my brief walk in my local stomping ground. However, I don’t usually conﬁne my interest to just plants and insects, but I felt that photographing birds requires too much “hanging around”. There were many more walkers than is normal, a consequence of the lockdown, and stopping in the one place is not conducive to social distancing. I therefore decided to leave my 600 mm lens at home. Roll on stage 4.

Week ending 17th May 2020: Strathclyde Country Park and Jim’s Garden

With the slight relaxation of the lockdown regulations to include more time for exercising, I extended my walks to include a fair bit of Strathclyde Country Park. It was very refreshing to see Greylags, with their goslings, well within the range of my macro lens.

Greylag Goose

I also snapped a Carrion Crow and Mute Swan that were perhaps pleased to see humans with food. Where had we we been? A Mallard pair paddled along the water’s edge, lead by a single duckling dabbling near the pebbly bank.

Carrion Crow	Mute Swan

Female Mallard	Mallard Duckling

Back at my garden it was business as usual for the Sparrows and Blue Tits getting on with nesting duties. These birds have been the main “traﬃc” through the feeders, and the main reason I need to replenish the feeders daily.

House Sparrow

Blue Tit

I captured a bitter exchange between two Feral Pigeon cocks. No blood was drawn but in was a violent struggle that ended with one bird ﬂying oﬀ to ﬁght another day.

Feral Pigeon

In midweek my neighbour decided it would be a good time to cut down the trees in his garden. These were adjacent to my feeders and were home to Woodpigeons, Blackbirds, Sparrows and Blue Tits. I’d have preferred that he had not felled the trees, but my neighbour was within his right to develop his garden. It’s a pity though that he didn’t wait a few weeks until nesting was over.

With fewer places now to perch, more birds have been appearing on my fence top. This makes it easier for me to get fairly close pictures, usually in good light.

Female Blackbird	Magpie

Wood Pigeon	Feral Pigeon

Sunday’s weather was dreich but I did managed a few interesting shots. The Sparrowhawk is still a daily presence over the estate. I got a reasonable shot albeit in poor light. I think I also have seen a Kestrel hovering 150m to the east. It may have been the Sparrowhawk, but I don’t think they usually hover.

Sparrowhawk	Kestrel

Some Jackdaws have been taking their lead from last week’s marauding Magpie by raiding the fatball feeder. Being slightly smaller birds, they were rather more successful than their big cousin. The Starlings, too, were frequently seen at the fatballs.

Jackdaw	Starling

The absence of trees has allowed the Lesser Black-backed Gulls to pass closer to my house. I was pleased to see a Great Tit at the feeders.

Lesser Black_backed Gull	Great Tit

I probably will be able to photograph more ﬂying birds now that the tress are gone. Also, I wonder if I’ll get diﬀerent Tits and Finches now that the feeders are more visible to passing birds. Let’shope

Week ending 10th May 2020: In and around Jim’s Garden, week 7

The Lockdown continues, but so does the good weather. I dislike taking pictures in grey conditions, so I’ve been enjoying my extended study of the nature on my doorstep. I caught a couple of House Sparrows getting frisky on the palings. Later, some House Sparrows began bringing bread from my neighbour’s garden into my garden, presumably to get peace to eat it. It didn’t work as the Starlings followed them and stole the bread anyway. Bonny birds Starlings.

House Sparrow

Starling

The Blue Tits were showing less well this week. I wonder if there were just too many Sparrows and Starlings for them.

Blue Tit

The Magpies were attracted by the fatball feeder. They couldn’t quite get a steady grip of the feeder and sort of hovered in the tight space while pecking frantically at the food. It looked hard work for not much reward, and they ended up with a greasy face and bill.

Magpie

The Pigeons were hanging about on my roof, swooping down beneath the feeders to catch the spillages from the smaller birds feeding.

Wood Pigeon	Feral Pigeon

After a few weeks’ absence the Robin turned up for some sunﬂower hearts. Always nice to see him. I also caught a record shot of a Sparrowhawk circling high overhead. It’s yet to descend to anywhere close enough for a better shot, but I think it’s only a matter of time.

Robin	Sparrowhawk

I’ve been I’ve been getting further practice in using my new macro lens, the Sigma 105mm. I got some nice photos of Wall Speedwell at the side of my garage. The tiny blue ﬂowers are about a millimetre across!

Wall Speedwell

I’ve also seen this week, on my daily exercise walks, Greater Stitchwort. Many wildﬂowers have names ending in “wort” , particularly ones that had medicinal uses, which apparently derives from Old English for “plant” or “root”. Stitchwort was once a herbal remedy for runners stitch (the pain in the side sometimes experienced during a long run). Their loverly ﬂowers are like bright stars, indeed their scientiﬁc name is Stellaria, meaning “star”. I also saw, Crosswort, a plant consists of a column of tiny yellow crosses. It was once used for rupture, rheumatism and dropsy. Not a “wort”, but lovely nonetheless, are Water Avens, a lovely, drooping wildﬂower, seen near the other herbal-interesting ﬂowers, Dandelion and Field Speedwell.

Greater Stitchwort	Crosswort

Water Avens	Dandelion/Common Field Speedwell

On another walk I noticed quite a few Orange-tip butterﬂies. They fairly shift around, only occasionally resting on a ﬂower for a quick feed. I got a few shots of a mating pair. The male performed impressive aerial acrobatics in completing the process before whizzing oﬀ in the wind.

Orange Tip Butterfly

I watched a pair of White-tailed Bumblebees using their aerial skills to navigate their way about yellow Comfrey ﬂowers. They’d been working hard as their pollen baskets were bulging.

White-tailed Bumblebee

It’s certain the Lockdown will go on for a few weeks yet and I will keep watching in and around by garden, trying to catch interesting photographs to bring to you each week. Never a dull moment.

2nd - 3rd May 2020: In and around Jim’s Garden, week 6

It’s been another week of kind weather. The birds are notably more frantic, more quarrelsome around the feeders, especially the House Sparrows. With more mouths to feed, it’s every bird for itself.

Female House Sparrows

House Sparrow

Starlings have been muscling their way onto the fatball feeder, easily displacing the puny Sparrows. They’ll be even more of a threat in the next week or two when they’re joined by their ﬂedglings to form raiding parties - if last year is anything to go by.

Starling

The Magpies have been checking out the feeder area. I witnessed (but sadly didn’t get a picture) a Magpie gobbling up a small pile of spilled oats and then, when he wanted more, ﬂew up crashing into a feeder to release more food. Smart birds.

Magpie

The Blue Tits have been getting their share. Their tactic is to wait patiently for an opportune moment before nipping speedily onto the sunﬂower/suet mix feeder to pinch a pellet or two to eat on the tree branches above. Occasionally they get chased by an outraged Sparrow, but usually the Tits are too fast for them.

Blue Tit

Below the feeders we’ve had regular visits from the Feral Pigeons and the occasional Blackbird.

Feral Pigeon	Female Blackbird

Overhead, I’ve caught shots of Jackdaw, Magpie, Feral Pigeons and, of course, the big boys, the Lesser Black-backed Gulls, each ready to move in when the opportunity arises. I’ve been a bit disappointed that the ﬂedglings haven’t shown yet, nor are there any new birds turning up, such as the Gold- and Greenﬁnches that I’ve heard nearby. Indeed some of my previous sightings, e.g. the Robin and Coal Tit, haven’t shown since the second week of lockdown. I remain hopeful. I have Niger seed but no feeder, so I might see about getting one to maybe entice them in.

Jackdaw	Magpie

Feral Pigeon	Lesser Black-backed Gull

I have purchased a Macro lens, the Sigma 105mm, so my main weekend activity was touring the garden, learning how to get the best from it. Some of the results are shown below.
My ﬁrst success was getting some nice shots of the blow ﬂy, Lucilia Caesar, common name, appropriately, the Greenbottle. Next I was a bit surprised to ﬁnd the Hoverﬂy Eristalsis Arborustrum in my garden. I can’t remember seeing one before. I have always been aware of the tiny Black Garden Ants though. One year I had to take action when they threatened to overrun the place. They’re always on the move, so after getting to grips with camera settings, I snapped a few on a large plant pot, along side even tinier creatures, Chrysanthemum Aphids. Apparently the Ants and Aphids have a bit of a deal going - the Ants protect the Aphids from predators and the Aphids produce food for the Ants. It’s termed “symbiosis”.

Lucilia Caesar	Eristalsis Arborustrum

Black Garden Ant	Chrysanthemum Aphid

On my Rowan tree I came across another Aphid, the Sycamore Aphid, known to gardeners as the Greenﬂy. On the same tree I was delighted to ﬁnd a wee favourite insect of mine, the hoverﬂy, Syrphus Ribesii. Its black and yellow bands and golden back are very pleasing to the eye. My small Rhododendron bush has started to bloom, attracting a few Bumblebees. Again I laboured for a bit, perfecting my “moving subject” technique, but eventually I managed a few acceptable shots of a Tree Bumblebee and Early Bumblebee.

Sycamore Aphid	Syrphus Ribesii

Tree Bumblebee	Early Bumblebee

I also got some closeups of ﬂowers. They’re easier to photograph than insects, but, due to the small depth of focus in the photographs, and a lack of familiarity with seeing at such a small scale, more consideration of composition is needed. The Bluebells, Clematis and Rosemary ﬂowers made nice subjects to start on.

Common Bluebell


Mountain Clematis	Rosemary

Lockdown is likely to go on for a few weeks more. Watching nature in and around my garden isn’t so bad. However, I do miss getting out and about, and I am missing my weekly breakfasts.

Highlights - May 2020

We present last month’s gallery of my favourite pictures I’ve taken during May They are not listed in the order they have been taken, but according to a series of themes. I’ve kept commentary to a minimum, preferring to let each picture talk for itself.

BLUE TIT FROLICS

Blue Tit

ASSORTED INSECTS

Caddisfly	Cluster Fly

Common Carder Bumblebee	Common Wasp

A VARIETY OF FERAL PIGEONS

Feral Pigeons

SOME NICE FLOWERS

Common Daisy	Cuckoo Flower

Hawthorn	Herb Robert

Horse Chestnut	Pignut

Ramsons	Wood Avens

WEE SPARROWS

House Sparrow

BUTTERFLIES

Peacock Butterfly	Green-veined White

Orange Tip

STUKKIES (Starlings)

Starlings

MORE INSECTS

Stiletto Fly	Hoverfly Rhingia Campestris

Cranefly Ptychoptera Albimana	Sun Beetle

Water Ladybird	Dasysyrphus Venustu

Large Dark Olive Mayﬂy	Large Red Damselfly